Five jailed for assisting July 21 bomb plotters

Five men who helped hide the July 21 London bombers and provided them with false passports were yesterday jailed for terms of between seven and 17 years.

The men, all living in London, included the brothers of two of those responsible for carrying out the unsuccessful attacks on the capital's transport system in 2005.

Had they alerted the authorities, Judge Paul Worsley QC told Kingston crown court, the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian mistakenly shot dead by police on July 22nd 2005, might have been prevented. The sentences at his disposal were "woefully inadequate to reflect the enormity" of the offences, he said.

The five men, who were all born in Africa but have leave to stay in the United Kingdom, gave clothing, food and shelter to the fugitives. Their immigration status is now under review, the court was told.

Wahbi Mohammed, 25, from Stockwell, was jailed for 17 years; Siraj Ali, 33, from Enfield, was given 12 years; and Abdul Sherif, 30, from Stockwell, was given 10 years. The other two defendants were Ismail Abdurahman, 25, from Lambeth, who was given 10 years, and Muhedin Ali, 29, from Ladbroke Grove, who was sentenced to seven years.

Following a four-month trial they were convicted of 22 charges relating to failing to disclose information about terrorism and assisting an offender. Ali and Mohammed were also convicted of having prior knowledge of the plot.

The aim was to detonate bombs on tube trains at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations as well as on a bus in Shoreditch, east London. The attack failed because the explosive mixture - based on hydrogen peroxide and chapati flour - did not ignite.

The would-be suicide bombers - Muktar Said Ibrahim, Hussain Osman, Yassin Omar and Ramzi Mohammed - were all jailed for life last year.